Something Old, Something New, Nothing Borrowed, Something Blue

[dgbg100106]

Carcasonne is lovely, and what a difference the blue sky made in the photos, I am so glad the weather participated for you.

I wish I had time to visit this trip but it will have to wait until the next trip to France.

 

[Pinkocto]

I'm sorry I got woefully behind, this new job is taxing.

The cathedral in Narbonne is beautiful. The gargoyles are fantastic!

The Horreum looks like a real find, fabulous that you read about that.

Mom would have enjoyed crepes with you. She loves the crepe station on the ships on pirate night.

The fortress at Carcassonne is very impressive. You are really making me want to plan a trip to Europe with all this fabulous history.

The cemetery was beautiful as well.

I would not have been happy about missing dinner.

 

[dolphingirl47]

What a great trip report! I'm enjoying all of the details you've included, as well as the historical background information you give for the sites you visit.

Welcome. I am glad you are enjoying it.

Also, your photos are fantastic!

Thanks.

Carcasonne was already on my bucket list. After seeing your Day 7 pictures, I need to make sure I get there sooner rather than later!

I agree with this assessment. Carcassonne is a must see.

Stunning photos!

Thanks.

Love the narrow streets, views of the castle, the murals, and the square.

Carcassonne is a real gem.

Carcasonne is lovely, and what a difference the blue sky made in the photos, I am so glad the weather participated for you.

I was a little disappointed with the weather, but I am glad that I got to see at least some blue sky.

I wish I had time to visit this trip but it will have to wait until the next trip to France.

In the words of Madame Leota: "Hurry back."

I'm sorry I got woefully behind, this new job is taxing.

I hope you are settling in OK and are enjoying your new job.

The cathedral in Narbonne is beautiful. The gargoyles are fantastic!

It really is stunning and the gargoyles really add to this.

The Horreum looks like a real find, fabulous that you read about that.

We really enjoyed it.

Mom would have enjoyed crepes with you.

The strange thing is that I don't like other kinds of pancakes, but I love crepes.

The fortress at Carcassonne is very impressive. You are really making me want to plan a trip to Europe with all this fabulous history.

There is so much to see and especially in that part of the world.

I would not have been happy about missing dinner.

Nor was I.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 8

We got up at around 8:30 again and got ready. I was not too sure if I fancied breakfast so I sent Graham ahead and I finished up packing. I then decided that I might as well get some breakfast as we had a busy day ahead of us. Graham had coffee, orange juice, apples, yoghurt, fruit salad and baguette with cold cuts and cheese. I had mint tea, baguette with salami and cheese, Madeleine and some chocolate chip cake. After breakfast we headed back to the room. While Graham finished his packing, I checked my emails and Facebook and then I unplugged the router and packed it up. Once Graham was ready, we left. We checked out and paid for our extras. I noticed that they had not charged us for the Internet and the extra dryer token so there were more freebies. Then we headed off towards the station.



Even though the walk to the station did feel about twice as long with the luggage, we got there in plenty of time. We had our tickets already so we did not have to worry about this. Our train was not even listed yet. We found a seat on a bench just outside the station building. I managed to get a Wi-Fi signal and posted some photos on Facebook from the previous day. Graham took a walk towards the end of the platform to see if he could verify my memory of seeing the cathedral when we changed train engines back in 2010. He came back and reported that there is not any point at the station were you can see the cathedral. I started to wonder if I had dreamed this, but the memory was definitely older than me starting my research for this trip. I also always thought that we were not at the station but in sidings near the station when the memory was formed. Of course, since then we have all seen proof that this memory was indeed real as Graham found a photo.

Once Graham was back from his walk, I went to check if our train was now listed and in which zone our coach would be. It was, but it was running slightly late so I went back to our bench and carried on doing stuff online. About 15 minutes before the train was due, Graham decided to head towards the zone where our coach would be with our suitcases. He left me to follow him when I was good and ready with the hand luggage. I finished up what I was doing and then I went to join him. Our train arrived shortly afterwards.





When we got on the train, we put our luggage on the luggage rack. That required reorganizing some of the luggage that was already there, but we found space for both of our suitcases. We took the hand luggage with us and put this in the rack above our seats. There was a slight complication with this. When we got to our seat, somebody was in one of them. When we pointed this out, she told us that somebody was in her seat. Apparently there had been a train cancellation earlier in the day and that meant that our train was quite busy. Still, we found two seats together and settled in.

The train journey was pretty smooth. Up to Perpignan, we followed the same route that we had taken a few days earlier and Graham saw another flamingo in the distance near Port la Nouvelle. At Perpignan we had a lengthy stop while the border police came on board. This seemed to be an entirely pointless exercise as they just walked through the train without checking passports. Once we were over the border in Spain, for a while it had felt like we had slowed down to walking pace. However, despite the various hold ups and delays, we arrived in Barcelona on time.



Although we had been at Barcelona Sants a few times before, I could not remember if there are lifts there. I was very relieved when I spotted one as soon as I got off the train. For some reason that lift was guarded by a member of staff, who directed us to a different lift further along the platform. There were a few people waiting there so Graham said he would take the escalator and meet me at the top. This worked great. Once we had met up again, we went to get a ticket for the next part of the journey. To my delight they have now added an English option to the ticket machines for the Rodalies commuter trains. That made getting tickets a lot easier. I had done my research and had found out that they do 10-journey tickets for the Rodalies and the metro that can be shared between multiple people. That seemed to be a great deal. So I got a 10-journey ticket. Graham was a little dubious about this. However, when we got to the barrier, a member of staff asked us if there were two of us, put the ticket into the machine twice and let us through. She told us which train line to use and from which platform, and we were on our way. Again there was a handy lift and once we got to the platform, we did not have long to wait.

Once we were on the train, the heavens opened. This did not bode well for the rest of the day. It was still raining once we got to our station 15 minutes later, but fortunately it was not too heavy. There was no handy lift there and we had to lumber the luggage down some stairs to the underpass and then up again the other end. I also had conveniently forgotten that you had to go down some stairs to get from the station building to the street level. There is a lift there, but unfortunately this did not work. At that stage we agreed that we were done lumbering luggage around and would take a taxi to the port. It carried on raining while we walked to the hotel. Again it felt twice as long as it really was with the luggage. Eventually we got to the hotel and checked in. We were given the choice between the 1st and 3rd floor and said that we did not mind. We ended up on the third floor and actually had a pretty nice view out of our window. We took our luggage to the room and used the bathroom. I checked directions to Park Guell where we headed that afternoon and then we set off. We were nearly at the lift when I realized that I had forgotten our etickets so I headed back to the room to get them.









After this detour, we were on our way to the station. It was still raining, but it was manageable. We cut through a park, which reduced the distance between the hotel and the station a little. When we got to the station, I got us both something to drink from a corner shop on the station approach road. Then we went into the station. Once we got to the platform, we had about 5 minutes to wait, which was just enough time to figure out what the best interchange stop would be. We decided to get off at Placa Catalunya rather than at Sants, as this would significantly shorten the trip on the metro. It turned out that the Rodalies platforms were quite far from the metro platform that we needed, but it still worked out. We got a 10-journey ticket for the metro and then we were all set. The metro was very busy and we ended up having to stand.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Our destination that afternoon was Park Güell. The work on Park Güell started in 1900. This was the first partnership between the entrepreneur Eusebi Güell and Antoni Gaudí. Originally what is now Park Güell was supposed to be a state of the art housing development. Unfortunately this never got off the ground. Only two houses were ever built. When one of them was put on the market, there were no takers. Gaudí eventually bought this and lived in it with his family. This is now known as Gaudí House and is a museum. It is kind of ironic that he did not actually design the house.

Park Güell is now a park that is open to the public. Much of it can be visited for free. However, there is a small admission charge and timed access to the monumental zone with strictly limited numbers. Gaudí House may not have been designed by Gaudí, but a lot of the decorations and structures in the park have. Most of those structures are contained within the monumental zone, although some of them are outside this area.

There are two metro stations that are listed as the closest access points to Park Güell, Vallcarca and Lesseps. They are both on the same metro line. Various sources recommended to get off at Vallcarca when heading to Park Güell as there are escalators going up the steep hill and then use Lesseps when leaving as this is downhill all the way. So this is what we did. If I had to do it again, this is not what I would do. It is accurate that there is a steep hill leading from Vallcarca to Park Güell. Actually, I would call it a very steep hill. It is also accurate that there are escalators, three to be precise. The issue is that there is a very steep and long stretch of hill between the first and the second escalator. After the third escalator, there was also a seemingly endless staircase leading to the entrance of the park. That was not enough though. The entrance that we came in through seems to be the furthest you can be from the monumental zone and still be in Park Güell. To get there, you have go downhill and down some stairs until you have lost about half the altitude you had gained again. Yes, there are fabulous views over Barcelona from this direction, but I was very aware that our window to enter the monumental zone was just about to close so we did not have much time to enjoy the views.













We did make it to the security check point for the monumental zone just in time and I was very relieved about this. We entered the monumental zone via the Nature Square, which is also referred to as the Greek Theatre. This was designed as a space for outdoor performances and features the famous serpentine benches that are covered in tile-shard mosaic. Although the serpentine benches are quite impressive, the rest of the area is pretty mediocre. There are some views over the city of Barcelona and also over the rest of the park, but I did not have any wish to hang around in that area. This looks much more impressive when you are standing near the bottom entrance and look upwards.











We started to make our way towards the bottom of the monumental zone. Next up on our walk around was the Laundry Portico. To me it looked like a half a ribcage, but it is meant to be a wave. Whatever it is, it is impressive. The other supporting pillars in this area are meant symbolize tree trunks. The architecture in this area is the plainest I have seen when it comes to Gaudí, but it is still stunningly beautiful. It is amazing what a talented architect can achieve with different textures.

















We then walked past a beautiful building. This is the Casa Larrard, which was originally a farmhouse from the 18th century, but was modified by Gaudí. This was the home of Eusebi Güell between 1906 and 1922. Since 1929, it has been a primary school. I hope that the kids appreciate their surroundings. It was in this area that we saw our first monk parakeet. We had heard them for a while, but they are rather well camouflaged in the leaves of the trees. Like their ring-necked cousins in the UK and France, they are an invasive species and have become a bit of a pest. Apparently they are driving out local species like pigeons and sparrows. Where the pigeons are concerned, that is probably a blessing. Indeed neither of us can remember seeing any pigeons at Park Güell.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Once we had followed the path to the end, we had arrived by the gatehouses. One of them is now a souvenir shop and the other one is part of the Barcelona History Museum. The Casa del Guarda (porter’s lodge) was built by Gaudí between 1901 and 1903 and was supposed to be the home of the caretaker. It houses the exhibition Güell, Gaudí and Barcelona, which focuses on the subjects of the house, the park and the city – one for each of the building's three floors. I initially got in line, but that did not seem to move at all so I gave up and headed for the gift shop instead.

















I then headed up the Dragon Staircase, which is probably the most recognized part of the park. I stopped for some photos, but what I really wanted to see is the Hypostyle Room. This is made up of 86 columns and is also known as the Doric Temple because of those. This area was supposed to be the marketplace for the estate. It has beautiful ceiling decorations. Unfortunately a part of this space is currently being restored and the scaffolding does distract from the overall effect, but it is still beautiful.













When I had left, Graham had been sitting on a wall near the Dragon Staircase. When I came back, he was gone. He had gone to do some exploring of his own. I wondered if he had actually gone into the Casa del Guarda. I used the time to check out where the Gaudí House Museum is, but did not do very well with that project. Graham showed up again shortly afterwards. He had been up to the Hypostyle Room as well.

At this stage, I had a decision to make. Our time slot to visit the Gaudí House Museum was rapidly approaching. However, I was still not entirely sure on how to get there. At the same time, the line for the Casa del Guarda had got much shorter. I knew that I could not do both. I checked with Graham and he was not bothered about visiting the Gaudí House Museum. So we decided to drop this. The tickets had not been much and the Gaudí House Museum is owned by the trust that is building Sagrada Familia. So I just considered this to be a donation to a good course. I realized the next day that I had made the right decision. The Gaudí House Museum is used to showcase some of the furniture that he created. I came to the conclusion the following day that also I think that Gaudí was a hugely talented architect; he was not much use as a carpenter. The furniture we saw the following day was very strange and I most certainly did not regret not having seen more of it.

So I headed off towards the Casa del Guarda. I asked Graham if he wanted to come, but he was quite happy to sit. I was instructed to look out of the windows so that Graham could take some photos. The line was much shorter than earlier and moved pretty swiftly. It did not take long until I was inside. The building is even smaller inside than it looks from the outside and even with carefully controlled numbers, it was very busy. The exhibition consisted of a number of screens. It was interesting, but I saw a similarly themed exhibition on a larger scale the next day. I was still glad I went as the house has some quirky architectural features. It was unfortunate that I could not take any photos due to the confined space and the number of people milling around.

 

[dolphingirl47]

When I came back outside, we decided that we had seen enough. We left the park and made our way back to the metro. This time we were aiming for Lesseps. The hill between Park Güell and Lesseps is not as steep and the route is more interesting until you get to the bottom of the hill. There are plenty of beautiful houses. On the flip side, there are also a number of souvenir shops of that are leaning towards the tacky as well as the Gaudí Experience, which combines a 4D show with an interactive exhibition. I rather suspect that Gaudí would be horrified to see how his name and legacy is used to cash in. I have to admit though that I came away with a Gaudí inspired souvenir. We walked past a jewellery shop and some beautiful silver jewellery caught my eye. There were pieces with the dragon from the staircase, but I fell in love with a sun, which is embellished with different coloured Swarovski crystals. It has an adjustable chain and I just had to have it. I ended up wearing it a lot during the cruise and I have also got a lot of wear out of it since I got home.










Once we got down the hill, we ended up walking alongside a huge building site, which pretty much stretched all the way to the metro station. Not only was it not pretty to look at and created a few interesting bottlenecks, but there was also a strong sewer smell all the way. Barcelona has a bit of an issue with this anyway and this was not at all pleasant. Fortunately it did not take too long to get to the metro station.

By that time we were ready for some food. I had my heart set on tapas. In 2010, we had found a nice little tapas restaurant around the back of Sants station. So we decided to see if this was still there. We got on the metro and went back to Sants. It turned out that the metro station is a fair distance away from the main train station and even once we got to the train station, we could not find the tapas restaurant. I am not sure if it is no longer there or if we were looking in the wrong place. There are a lot of building works going on in this area making things somewhat confusing.

In the end we decided to head back to Molins de Rei. Our original plan had been to see the first show of the Magic Fountain, as this was the only day during our stay that there were shows, but it looked like it would start to rain again very soon. I also had enough for one day at that stage and we knew that we would have a very busy day the following day. So heading back to the general direction of our hotel seemed like a good idea. We headed down to the platform and again we did not have to wait long for a train.

It did not take us long to get to Molins de Rei. We still had the issue that breakfast was but a distant memory. Still, we were about to have a powerful reminder that real gems can come in unusual packages. We were just about to turn into the park towards the hotel when I spotted that a little sports bar just across from the entrance to the park was offering tapas. I pointed this out to Graham and we decided to give this a go. We had to pass an incentive test first. This was very much a local watering hole and the owners did not speak English. As we do speak neither Spanish nor Catalan, we had an issue. Fortunately one of the regulars speaks English and one of the owners asked her to help us. After she had established that it was tapas we were looking for, she explained what the different options on the blackboard were and with her help, we placed an order. We had a lovely chat in the process. Graham had a local beer and I had the best Sangria I have ever tasted. For food, we very quickly decided on the Patatas Bravas. I expected cubes of potatoes in a tomato and red pepper sauce, but what we got was slices of crispy fried potatoes that were drizzled with red pepper sauce and garlic aioli. They tasted heavenly. Unfortunately the photo I took of this dish was blurred beyond recognition so I ended up deleting it. We also ordered some onion rings. The standout dish though was the Pinchos. Pinchos or Pintxos are an alternative to tapas, which is traditional to the north of Spain. Like tapas, they are a small snack that are either eaten as an appetizer or as a bar snack. However, what makes them different is that they consist of small slices of bread with various toppings that are held together by a toothpick. Pinchos or Pintxos means spike in their respective languages. What we ended up with was kind of a deconstructed Pinchos. We had grilled bread with olive oil and cubes of marinated pork. This was so full of flavour and heaven on a plate. We also got some grilled Bread with tomato on the house. Even though we had only chosen three small dishes between the two of us, we were absolutely stuffed.







After dinner we walked back to hotel through the park. As soon as we entered the park, there was a strong smell of jasmine. It turned out that the park was jam-packed with jasmine trees. Graham had not come across them before and was quite fascinated by them. Shortly afterwards we arrived at the hotel. I checked my emails and Facebook while Graham was getting ready for bed and then it was my turn. It did not take long until we were both asleep.

 

[tiggrbaby]

Oh my! This is just the information I need! We will be in Barcelona at the end of September. Park Guell is on my list of must-dos. I checked my research and I have Lesseps as the station to get off. Do you happen to remember the name of the jewelry store and bar? I LOVE the necklace and the food is just what I would like: tastes of everything. And sangria is what I am looking forward to consuming!

 

[Pinkocto]

I think this update has clinched it, 2018 is going to be Europe. Every single time I see pictures of Gaudi's architecture I really want to see it in person. It's so unique.

Travels seemed quite smooth as well, even with lugging the suitcases around.

Oh my about the escalators and big hill.

Cute pictures of you in the window.

The necklace is beautiful.

Dinner looked delicious!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Oh my! This is just the information I need!

I am glad that I could be of help. Where are you staying?

Park Guell is on my list of must-dos.

It is well worth a visit. We finally made it there on the third attempt. I had this planned for both visits in 2010, but in April 2010 we lost most of our planned visit when we had to take the train across Europe and in September 2010, the weather was even more diabolical than it was this time.

Do you happen to remember the name of the jewelry store and bar?

The jewellery store is called Oliver Weber and is on the main road leading from the exit by the gate houses down the hill. The bar is called Frankfurt Molins. This amused me as I was born and grew up in Frankfurt. This is in Molins de Rei, which is 5 stops on the R4 line in the direction of Martorell or St. Vincenc de Calder from Sants or 6 stops from Placa Catalunya. The journey is quite interesting and takes 15 to 20 minutes.

It is quite easy to find, too. When you get out of the station, you head down the hill. At the end of the hill, you turn right. Stay on the same side of the road as the station and after about 5 minutes, you see the park ahead of you. Just before the park is a small road that runs alongside it. There is a cafeteria on the corner and if you go away from the main road a little further, Frankfurt Molins is on your right. It does not look particularly inviting, but the food is divine and the owners are very friendly.

I think this update has clinched it, 2018 is going to be Europe.

That sounds like a plan. If I can help in any way with the preparations, please let me know.

Every single time I see pictures of Gaudi's architecture I really want to see it in person.

It really is stunning. You will be in your element with the next update as the majority of the day involves Gaudi.

Travels seemed quite smooth as well, even with lugging the suitcases around.

Travelling by train in Europe is really easy.

Oh my about the escalators and big hill.

I think it would not have been as bad if we had not been in such a rush.

Cute pictures of you in the window.

Thanks.

The necklace is beautiful.

I love it and have now ordered the matching earrings as well.

Dinner looked delicious!

It was.

Corinna

 

[tiggrbaby]

I am glad that I could be of help. Where are you staying?

Corinna

We are staying at Hotel Curious, which is somewhere off the middle of Las Ramblas.

 

[dolphingirl47]

We are staying at Hotel Curious, which is somewhere off the middle of Las Ramblas.

That looks very nice and is very close to Placa Catalunya.

Corinna

 

[jedijill]

Finally catching up on all your reports! I'm so far behind but I have to say your trip is off to an amazing start! I have to get to London some of these days of the Harry Potter tour! It looks amazing! Love the towns you visited in France and I already know I love and want to return to Barcelona!

Hopefully I can stay caught up.

Jill in CO

 

[tiggrbaby]

That looks very nice and is very close to Placa Catalunya.

Corinna

That's good to know as well! I am hoping to use the airport bus and walk to the hotel and that is where it drops you off.

 

[dgbg100106]

Barcelona is one of my favorite places, back in 2008 we went to Park Guell, but for the life of me I do not remember having to buy timed tickets to get in?
I love the public transportation in Spain it is so easy to use and get around.

You had a very busy day and cant imagine not having lunch during that time, but glad you had a great place to eat. it sounded lovely.

Love the necklace, it is beautiful and matching earrings is a bonus.

 

[franandaj]

So much I had to catch up on! The time in France sounds lovely. Now I want to try some cassoulet! However, I believe I will have to make it myself.
I loved the pictures of the cathedral and the Cite.
Barcelona sounds very interesting especially Park Guell. I really wonder how accessible these places are. You mentioned about the one train station where the lift did not work. It sounds as though navigating could be rather difficult for Fran. I do enjoy hearing about your adventures! I would be done for the next two days if I walked 15000 steps!

 

[dolphingirl47]

Finally catching up on all your reports!

Welcome.

I'm so far behind but I have to say your trip is off to an amazing start!

It was an amazing part of the trip and I am so glad that we finally managed to do this. There are two more days in Barcelona to come before we head on the ship.

I have to get to London some of these days of the Harry Potter tour! It looks amazing!

London is worth a visit anyway and the Harry Potter tour is a real highlight.

Love the towns you visited in France

I was pretty pleased with the choices we made.

That's good to know as well! I am hoping to use the airport bus and walk to the hotel and that is where it drops you off.

According to the information on the hotel website, Placa Catalunya is only an 8 minute walk away. With luggage it may take a little longer.

Barcelona is one of my favorite places

When we visited in 2010, neither of us really enjoyed it, but this time round, we fell in love.

back in 2008 we went to Park Guell, but for the life of me I do not remember having to buy timed tickets to get in?

I am not sure when this was introduced, but the reason behind this is that they want to restrict numbers to preserve this space.

I love the public transportation in Spain it is so easy to use and get around.

In France it is even easier.

You had a very busy day and cant imagine not having lunch during that time, but glad you had a great place to eat. it sounded lovely.

If we are out and about enjoying ourselves, we often end up skipping a meal or two.

Love the necklace, it is beautiful and matching earrings is a bonus.

Graham was a little dubious about this, but I love the necklace and wear it almost every day at the moment. The earrings are just round, but have the same pattern.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Oops, I missed this yesterday. I think you were posting while I reply to other people.

The time in France sounds lovely.

We really enjoyed our time there. The places we visited there were really interesting and quite diverse.

Now I want to try some cassoulet!

As you know I am not a fan of French food, but this just blew my mind. It is real down to earth comfort food.

Barcelona sounds very interesting especially Park Guell.

Barcelona grew on us this trip and it is definitely an interesting place. In 2010, it felt downright seedy and I never really felt safe, but they seemed to have cleaned up their act and this time there was not a single moment were I felt unsafe.

I really wonder how accessible these places are.

Paris is probably the worst in that respect as a lot of the metro stations do not have elevators. Barcelona is better and if you stay somewhere near the tourist areas, then everything is quite close by with the exception of Park Guell. Even that would be OK as long as you use the metro station that we used on the way back as the hill is not too steep.

You mentioned about the one train station where the lift did not work.

There was also the issue that there was only a lift on the outside of the station and not to get from the platforms to the main station. However, this was in the suburbs.

I would be done for the next two days if I walked 15000 steps!

For me on vacation this is kind of a lazy day. I think my record was 39000 last year during my coast to coast trip.

Corinna

 

[dolphingirl47]

Day 9

We had a long day ahead of us that day and for me this was the ultimate Gaudí experience. We got up at around 8:00, got ready and went downstairs for breakfast. We both had coffee, orange juice, yoghurt and fruit cocktail. The coffee there was entirely drinkable and I improved mine further by adding a spoon of chocolate powder. Graham had bread with cold cuts and cheese and I had bread with chorizo and cheese. It was a very pleasant breakfast and set us up very nicely for what would be a very active day. The only drawback was that we were sitting right by the rotary toaster, which was squeaking up a storm. After breakfast, we went back upstairs to get our cameras and I picked up our assorted confirmations and my handbag. The weather forecast looked promising for the day. Unfortunately as soon as we stepped outside, we realized that the weather forecasters in Barcelona make the same mistake than their counterparts in the UK: they do not look out of the window. It was drizzling and Graham told me that he would go and get our jackets. He told me to carry on walking and we would catch me up.

I turned into the park a little bit too early and ended up on a basketball court. However, I soon enough found the path and I think this little mishap actually saved me time. I had actually made it all the way to the station by the time Graham caught up with me. When he got there, it was still about 7 minutes until the next train. This gave us time to check out what the best interchange point would be. Two of the stations on the outskirts of Barcelona were interchange points with the metro network and one of them actually was an interchange point for the metro line going to Sagrada Familia, which was our first stop that day. This turned out a blessing for a number of reasons. When I picked up the confirmation emails at the hotel, I had realized that I had remembered the time we were due at Sagrada Familia wrong. I was absolutely convinced that I had booked this for 10:30, but actually I had booked this for 10:00 so we were cutting things a little fine. Getting off two stops earlier saved some time and the metro platform was very close to the station so this saved time, too. An added advantage was that this was the terminus station for that particular metro line and there were not many people getting on there either. So we managed to get seats. As we moved to the city centre, the metro filled up very rapidly. So this worked out all around. Fortune was smiling on us that day. We had a clear run on the metro and found the closest exit to Sagrada Familia. The entrance for people that already have tickets is also the closest to the metro station and we ended up entering the line for security just as our window opened. They scan the ticket at the entrance of this line so I knew we would be OK.





The ticket line looked rather impressive. Graham teased me that I have taken him to Disney and reminded me of the 20-minute rule. He did not need to worry. The line moved pretty swiftly. I caused some interest as I had zipped up my rain jacket over my camera to protect it from the rain, but once I had unzipped the jacket and the security guard could see that it was just a camera, we were waved through. We briefly stopped outside to take some photos of the façade and then we headed inside the church. I had briefly visited Sagrada Familia in September of 2010 and had instantly fallen in love with the place. At that time, the interior was not completely finished and there was heavy building equipment inside the church. Since then the church had been consecrated and the interior is now finished, although some of it is still blocked off for some reason. On that occasion, Graham had seen the line for tickets and decided to wait for me at a nearby park. So for him it was the first visit. I was not entirely sure what he would make of this. Sagrada Familia is a very impressive space, but it also very modern. Graham also voiced some concerns that because of the sheer number of tourists in there at any given time, it would not feel like a church.



















Sagrada Familia was every bit as impressive as I had remembered. As the scaffolding and the building equipment have gone, this has visually opened up the church. We walked around for a bit and took some photos. This really is a huge church. Once we had seen most of the front of the church, we sat down on some chairs that they had set up near the altar and just absorbed our surroundings and enjoyed. After a while we got up and headed towards the back of the church. I pointed out the lifts that go up to the towers that are open to the public. Neither of us had the wish to go up there.














Graham was utterly fascinated with the way the light worked in the church so he sat down on ledge in an alcove near the back of the church. Initially I sat there with him and just enjoyed, but there were a few other elements of the church I still wanted to see so I got up again and went exploring. I was chiefly looking for access to the crypt. This is the final resting place for Gaudí and I would have liked to have paid my respects. I noticed that there was access to an area behind the altar and wondered if the access to the crypt would be there. It was not. There are windows in the area giving a view down into the crypt. To my surprise there was a mass in progress down there. It was nice to see that this was well frequented and there were so many people down there, that most ended up standing. I know that at the moment they hold mass in the crypt while work on the church continues. However, before I booked our tickets I checked their website to see if and when mass would take place as I knew we would be there on a Sunday. It looked like that they only hold mass once a month at Sagrada Familia and the Sunday we were there was not on the list.

















I did manage to get a glimpse of Gaudí's final resting place in the distance. I wondered if I could get a closer look. From the other side, it was not possible to walk all the way around as some of the area has been blocked off. So I backtracked and went down the other side. Although this should have been much closer, the windows there did not overlook the right part of the crypt. I gave up on this and headed out the opposite door to the one we had come in through. I could not remember this from my first visit at all. I have since found out that this part only opened about a week before our visit. The area is a part of the cloisters, which is used to showcase various pieces of furniture that Gaudí had design for Sagrada Familia. This is where it started to dawn on me that I am not a huge fan of the furniture. At the end of the accessible part of the cloisters was the sacristy, which is an amazing space. It also houses two very ornate storage cabinets. One is for the liturgical vestments and the other for liturgical objects.

I headed back to get Graham as we had used up the time that we had available for Sagrada Familia. Before we headed out, we quickly detoured to the cloisters, as I wanted to show Graham the sacristy. We then headed out. I could not figure out how to get out of there so I approached one of the security guards. He advised that the exit was through the gift shop. I am sure that this was not the case in 2010. Graham teased me again that this is Disney. On the way, we had a quick bathroom stop. It was then that I figured out that the access to the crypt is actually on the outside of the church. Unfortunately this can only be accessed while a service is in progress.

 

[dolphingirl47]

Graham had studied the map and we decided to walk to our next destination. Initially I saw familiar places like the park where Graham waited for me in 2010 and a road that we had walked down to get to Placa Catalunya. Then we seemed to be weaving in and out of side streets. I had no idea where we were and got worried as our next reservation time was fast approaching. Suddenly we were standing in front of La Pedrera and with time to spare. I was teased mercilessly for not trusting the navigator.











We found the right entrance for people who had purchased tickets online. There was a short line, but that moved really quickly. When we got to the front of the line, we were advised that the rooftop was currently closed and we were given the option to come back later in the day. Neither of us was really bothered about visiting the rooftop so we went ahead. The official name of this building is Casa Milà, but it is normally referred to as La Pedrera, which means the stone quarry. Supposedly its façade resembles an open quarry. I do not quite see that, but then again I am not an expert in quarries. It was the last civil work designed by Gaudí and was built from 1906 to 1912. Only a fraction of La Pedrera can be visited. The courtyard, roof, attic and the apartment of the Milà family are open to the public.

In terms of colour, this is a rather plain building from the outside. It is built from limestone and does not have any colourful mosaic embellishments. However, it is far from boring due to some quirky architectural features and various textures. We entered through a side door and after going down a long ramp; we ended up in one of the courtyards. The blueprint of the building is like a lopsided number 8. I have to say the view from the bottom of courtyards upwards is stunning and makes you feel very small. We then came past the main entrance with its stunning wrought iron gate. We were directed to a lift to go up to the attic. We had a short wait, as there were quite a few people on their way up. The lift opens up right into the attic space. When this was built, this was the location of the laundry. The attic is made up of 270 catenary arches of various heights that support the roof terrace.Although this is quite a simple design, the overall effect is stunning. Various sources claim that this either resembles the rib cage of a large animal or palm trees. I can see why people say it looks like a rib cage. It definitely has something very organic about it. The attic is home to Espai Gaudí, which is an exhibition about the life and work of Gaudí. This has been very well done with various short films, models and drawings of various buildings and other objects including more rather strange furniture. We spent a fair amount of time up there.

















We were just about to head downstairs when we realized that the roof terrace was now open. This was a little strange. The official statement is that this is closed if it is raining for health and safety reasons. This makes perfect sense as this is very exposed and due to the design I can see how this and rain does not really mix. However, when we entered the building, it was not actually raining. It had rained earlier and the streets were wet, but for the time being it was dry. When we went out on the roof terrace, it was raining quite heavily. I am glad that we got to see this. I was a little surprised by what we found. The term roof terrace made me expect that we would find a flat space. This is not so. The whole roof terrace is on multiple levels and is essentially just a series of outdoor staircases looking down onto the courtyards on one side and providing good views over Barcelona on the other. There are a number of interesting design elements. Chimneys have been grouped together and they as well as the exits of the stairwells and the ventilation vents have been turned into futuristic looking sculptures. There are also turrets at the corners of the building. The whole space has a certain fairy tale quality. As interesting as this space is, as neither of us is particularly good with heights, we were glad once we were back inside.











When we came back from the rooftop, we realized that there was one-way system in place. Although the stairwell from the roof top down to the attic and the stairwell leading downstairs were right next to each other, we could not just cross over, but had to go all around the attic again. Still, this was no hardship. We then headed a couple of floors down to the Pedrera apartment. This was the originally the apartment of the Milà family. Originally it had furniture designed by Gaudí in it, but after a fallout between Gaudí and the Milà family, this was refurnished. The furniture in there today is from the 1920s and although it is interesting how people during this period lived, this space did not do a great deal for me. The two elements that stood out to me are a beautiful chandelier and a tiled floor in one of the rooms. I could imagine having those tiles, which were white, but had an embossed design in our apartment.





On our way down from the attic, we had passed a lift. We were asked if we were finished or wanted to visit the apartment. When we told the member of staff that we were headed for the apartment, she told us to come back once we were done and we could take the lift down to the ground floor. That was a welcome piece of news as my knees were still complaining when asked to navigate stairs and going down was infinitely worse than going up. So once we were finished with the apartment, we headed back up one flight of stairs and then we took the lift down.

When we got back to the ground floor, it was still raining quite heavily. That is one issue with a building that mainly consists of courtyard: when it rains, you will get wet. We had a look around the covered part of the ground floor. The stairwell in this area is stunning. It features some very beautiful murals that were created by painting with oil points onto the plaster. By the time I had finished looking at those and had taken some photos, it had fortunately stopped raining and we headed out.